Drug Enforcement Administration

Court Of Appeals Upholds Edison Burgos-Montes Conviction

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - On May 13, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit submitted a 57 page opinion affirming the conviction of Edison Burgos-Montes, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

Edison Burgos-Montes appealed from his conviction for two counts of drug conspiracy and two counts of murder. The latter stemmed from the disappearance of Burgos-Montes’ girlfriend - Madelin Semidey-Morales - shortly after Burgos-Montes learned that she had been acting as a DEA informant. Burgos-Montes challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, the denial of several pre-trial motions to suppress evidence, and a number of other district court actions before and during trial.

In upholding the jury’s verdict, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals found Burgos-Montes’ arguments unpersuasive and, thus, affirmed his conviction.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico congratulates all the prosecutors and DEA agents who worked tirelessly in the investigation and prosecution of Burgos-Montes, with great success,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The appeal was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco A. Besosa, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Appellate Division.